The wrong way to pay civil servants
A new ICAC case reminds us that the Government and public sector get bad value for taxpayers and lose good people by paying time-limited benefits that are based on irrelevant factors rather than the value of their services. Scrap all the benefits schemes and pay people what they are worth. At the same time, remove the housing loophole from salaries tax, raise personal allowances and bring down the tax rate to compensate. (13-Jan-2018)

HKSAR v Mak Chai Kwong & Tsang King Man
HK Court of Final Appeal, 29-Jan-2016
The shortest-serving Secretary for Development and his co-accused succeed in their final appeal. Their defence was that although each had sold the other's flat under power of attorney and kept the proceeds, this swap of beneficial interests had been entered into after they had ceased claiming civil service Private Tenancy Allowance for renting each other's flats. Comment: the underlying policy issue here is a flawed system of remuneration, which should not depend on what they do with their income.

GLD Controller sentenced for HK$4.2m housing loan & allowances fraud
ICAC, 4-Sep-2015
This case is another example of muddled thinking on civil service remuneration. Civil servants, like anyone else, should be paid what their services are worth, and not an amount based on whether or not they are renting a home or have a mortgage to pay. Mr Leung's "crime" was to claim what someone in his position would have been paid if he had actually rented the flat for the period he claimed.